Quick Hits: Braves, Fielder, Reds, Cespedes, Dodgers

On this day last year, the Rangers traded Frank Francisco and cash considerations to the Blue Jays for Mike Napoli. Toronto pulled the trigger on the swap just four days after acquiring Napoli from the Halos. Here's a look at tonight's links..

The Braves have set a player payroll budget of $94MM for this year, leaving them with several million dollars still to spend, chairman and CEO Terry McGuirk told Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. McGuirk also said that Liberty Media has expressed no intention of selling the club in the near future. Also of note is that the club is locked into a 25-year local TV deal that will prevent the franchise from cashing in on MLB’s trend toward higher telecast rights fees.

The Rangers' bid for Prince Fielder was much shorter than nine years, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.

The Reds are probably done handing out big league deals this offseason, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Earlier tonight, the club reached agreement on a minor league deal with Jeff Francis.

Free agent Raul Ibanez believes that a three-day session that he had in December with Cubs hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo will be key to a bounce back season in 2012. Last season, Ibanez hit .245/.289/.419 in 575 plate appearances for the Phillies.

Comments

I’m pretty sure that FW said that he plans on saving that money in case we need to take on some salary at the trade deadline. Btw, I know that it’s just business and not personal but I think Liberty Media is doing a terrible job and for the wrong reasons. You could probably rename the team the Atlanta Tax Write-Offs

I just pray these prospects pan out and that the scouting department continues to thrive. The Nationals have the richest owner in baseball. The Phillies have the highest payroll in the league. The Marlins are all of a sudden big-spenders and despite their current financial state, there’s a New York club in the NL East…..

Seems like nit picking, but all 5 were not overseas signings. Yes, bethancort, Delgado, and Teheran were overseas signings by the Braves, the other 2 were not. And before you try and outsmart me, yes, I know vizcaino was signed from overseas, but not by the Braves. He was aquired via trade.

I don’t really think Liberty Media has done a great job as an owner, but I also don’t think it has handicapped the team. The Braves have been in the middle of the league as far as payroll is concerned, and they’ve had enough money to sign and keep good players when they wanted to do so. Don’t forget that we signed Uggla to a long-term deal just last year. No, we’re not spending like the Phillies, but the Braves don’t have anything to justify that. Also, the attendance ranks right in line with the payroll…

How can an owner like Mark Cuban not get approved, presumably, by the owners, yet they approve Liberty Media who won’t redo local contracts that can bring in more money for the team (and better coverage) or raise the budget? I used to give Liberty the benefit of the doubt in hopes that they’d be selling in the next coming seasons, but that’s not gonna happen.

Hey, at least it’s showing him in a little baseball action. That awful video of his basically just showed him catching routine fly balls(thrown from the infield) behind his back and lifting human beings with his legs.

I’m no scout, but I don’t see a star…….from what little action I have seen him in.

They probably have more to celebrate than shout down. Even with the boneheaded Napoli move (and they weren’t going to make the playoffs with Napoli anyway), the brilliance of moving Vernon Wells and taking only 5MM in salary (Juan Rivera) far outshines it.

I’ve been waiting all off season for my Braves to make some significant move….and yet the biggest thing they did was trade D-Lowe…..He’ll probably go over and win 15-18 games this year with a sub 4.00 era….But with that money that they have saved maybe they’ll be able to pick someone up at the trade deadline this year

The Indians have a good defensive club, so I can see Lowe bouncing back a bit. I approve of that trade 100% though, he was blocking a rotation spot from about 300 guys and he…..well, he sucked.

I’m fine with them standing pat. They have a competitive club and almost every regular position player seemed to randomly lose the ability to get on base. That same team(replace Infante with Uggla) led the league in OBP the year before. Even without a move, I fully expect a better offensive showing this season. Pitching might regress overall a bit, but no way the offense is that bad again. And remember, they have the most trade chips in the division. All they need to do is stay competitive and wait for the right player to be dangled, should they feel they need a bat. Hopefully Jurrjens builds some value back up before the break…..

I don’t think the Braves had any big needs to address this offseason. I’m glad they didn’t make a splash just for the sake of it. I think Prado’s season was a fluke caused by injury, and if he and Heyward bounce back they will have a solid offense again. The 2011 Braves scored 100 fewer runs than the 2010 Braves despite the significant addition of Dan Uggla. A new manager would be nice, but hopefully he will figure out that sacrificing 6 outs every game effectively shortens the game by two innings for the opposing pitching staff. Please figure that out Freddie. Please.

So do we give up on Jason Heyward after one bad season, bench Chipper despite that fact that he is making a bunch of money and still had a 120+ OPS last year, or what? Other than shortstop, I’m not seeing where the Braves were supposed to add a player this offseason.

Problem is the Braves need OFers at least two and have none of note in the minors. Their SS and Catcher prospects are two years away.

So they have a pile of pitching and no cavalry for the offense anywhere in the minors.

They need cash for FA (or for trades where they are picking up salary) and Liberty is not going to give it to them. They have to pray Heyward bounces back, FF doesn’t regress and Prado plays like it was 2009/2010.

Uggla was likely a mistake since Prado was fine at 2B. He is underpowered for LF. Most teams don’t look to 2B for power or RBIs that is for the corner OFs, 3B or 1B.

Uggla will be traded before his contract is up. The Braves need a 110-120 RBI guy not a guy who hits piles of solo shots.

He was the wrong profile for a clean up hitter. Wren should watch Moneyball.

At least 2 outfielders? We have plenty… Between Prado, Bourn, Heyward, Diaz, Hinske and Constanza I think they’ve got PLENTY of options, even if half of them are backups.

We don’t need a new catcher. McCann and Ross are a killer duo. Possibly the best in the game (Offensively, at least).

I don’t really see how Uggla was a mistake. Yeah, his first 2 months were garbage last year… but it isn’t his fault he hits tons of solo shots. Sorta helps him drive in more runs when the guys in front of him get on base.

Heyward struggled and was injured for the better part of the season and was still worth 2 wins. He’ll be 23 at that point, so unless he has a season similar to what Dunn had in 2011…….you’re wrong in saying that.

Braves fans are relying on a lot of ‘if’s, but so are a lot of contenders. There’s just no way a team leads the league in OBP one year and turns into one of the worst in baseball the next without a lot of bad luck in play. Look at each players career norms and then look at their 2011 marks.

“So they have a pile of pitching and no cavalry for the offense anywhere in the minors.”

That keeps being said, and yet they’ve trotting a 22-year-old or younger out there on opening day for the 3rd straight year. Not a ton of depth in the minors, but Simmons, Bethancourt, Pastornicky, Salcedo, and The Terd all seem like decent prospects.

Also, with a pitching surplus they have the ability to trade for offense. That’s how it works.

My MB comment was about building a team with a design center, this team hasn’t had one is years.

The RBI comment was about getting a guy who hits with men on base not a direct money ball reference which I did read.

Uggla didn’t do that (hit a ton of RBIs) with the Marlins and he is not doing it in ATL. He is a solo shot guy. What a few games… I watched a ton of Marlins games as my kids like them and he did the same thing there.

Their GM didnt dump Uggla for a utility player and a middle of the road loogy for nothing. He just spent a ton on new players and is opening a beautiful stadium. Uggla, if he was worth the investment, could have been part of that but he wasn’t.The men on base issue is not just about the lead off guy and or #2. Uggla bats 5th more than 4th and he still only managed to hit 80 RBIs.That is not new as he batted 5th in FL with similar results. He is not a guy who carries an offense. Never has been.PS – I watch 150 Braves games a year and have for 20 yrs. I know a crappy line up and a hodge podge team when I see one.And yes they need two OF. Prado is a 2B and Bourne will be gone in 9 mos.Heyward has to earn the RF job this spring per Wren.So worst case scenario Prado is traded and or Chipper goes down for good, Bourne walks and Heyward goes back to AAA or gets traded.If two of the above happen there is nothing in the minors now to fill LF and CF, zero.Pastornicky has a high error rate and his appeal is base stealing. Don’t expect a guy who hit less than FF or Heyward to waltz into the majors and hit .290 b/c he wont.I fully expect him to be a struggle as a starter but be ok as a bench player.We will see.

You don’t have a clear look at the franchise. Yes, we need more OF depth, but how does a team with some of the best OBP in 2010 regress to one of the worst in 2011? You state that Uggla will be traded before his contract is up because he is hitting solo shots and not a 110-120 RBI guy, but that isn’t his fault. With Prado/Heyward getting on base and a full season of Bourn, he’ll have guys to set the table so he can bring them in. Don’t expect Uggla to be hitting .100 2.5 months into the season like last year.

You should quitting watching Moneyball (it’s a movie, buddy, not real) and watch the Braves. They had that year’s Cy Young winner (Zito)/MVP (Tejada) not including Hudson/Mulder yet they focused their story on the has-beens that got the job done. Yeah…keep believing that.

BOS/ATL are in similar situations in having older 3B in their twilight years, so why would BOS trade Middlebrooks with Youk there? Yes, they need some pitching, but have no space on the roster without making a move (no room for Cody Ross until they do something) and they have a little bit of room for a 1-2 year contract for Oswalt/Jackson.

ATL has some nice 3B prospects that could make a giant leap forward in development this year in Terdoslavich and Salcedo. Frankly, we need more OF depth before we can really worry about 3B that has to plus-prospects in AA, a batting champion currently at the position, and an All-Star backing it up (Prado).

As much as I love Prado, I don’t want to see him at 3B, unless you’re talking about any time between Terdoslavich/Salcedo, if they do look like 3B of the future.

I would love to see Uggla moved to LF, but he already doesn’t have range at 2B, so unless we’ll play it softball style and have 4 outfielders, I can’t see Uggla going anywhere but DH from 2B.

I like Pastornicky, but if Simmons works out, I’d like to see something else happen before he makes a move to 2B. We need some power. Terdoslavich looks like he can be that, possibly, but Pastornicky won’t. Simmons definitely won’t.

I don’t like Jurrjens, simple as that. He’s a Boras client, can’t stay healthy, and clearly isn’t in this teams long-term plans. I don’t really have a whole lot of faith in him anyway. He has value, I understand that……..#3 guy at best though and the Braves have plenty of SP depth(albeit a lot of unproven depth, but it’s solid nonetheless). Acquiring Scuturo gives Pastornicky more seasoning and gives the Braves a proven SS option. Gross? Are you under the impression that Jurrjens is an ace or something?

You don’t have to like Jurrjens, and I am very much in favor of trading him myself, but I’d like to get something worthwhile. Trading a quality, young starting pitcher, even if he’s in his last year of team control, for a 36-year-old utility infielder without much of a bat doesn’t seem like a great plan to me. If there were a good prospect or two in the deal, it might make some sense.

The Rev may not be a sure thing, but you’ve got to work with what you have. I’m excited to see him play and show what he can do. If he can hit better than .250/.300 (Basically, loads better than A-Gon) then we should be stoked. I will be, at least. His speed will be great as well if he can hit his way into the 2 spot during Spring Training. He and Bourn would give pitchers and catchers FITS.

I’m with you on the ownership, though. Liberty sucks and are only the owners to say they own the Braves. I’m not saying they need a Yankees payroll… but having wiggle room would be a start.

IF they have some cash left then can the Braves not do something? I like that they kept prado because if he can bounce back i would love to see him Chippers replacement. If uggla can play like he did second half, freeman plays like he did then they might be ok but it would have been nice to see them do something for the offense at short with the nats being rich, the marlins all of a sudden spending, and the phillies payroll.

They need to have some money free to have the ability to do something at the trade deadline, which looks probable. If Pastornicky isn’t doing well or someone goes down with an injury, they can add to the payroll by a transaction. The Nats can’t pay enough to add a free agent into that situation and the Marlins and Phillies have glaring weaknesses like any team, not including having a former MVP (Howard) out a significant amount of time.

Still The Marlins have indeed gotten better and if they can compete im sure ownership will give them some more cash, The Rotation will be solid and the bullpen will be a little better than last year and jose reyes is pretty solid. They still have some ifs like the Braves, (Coghlan, and the braves heyward) Phils i believe your spot on but idk the braves look like they have an uphill climb

No one knows if the Marlins have gotten better. We haven’t played any games since Miami acquired all those guys and I’m not about to anoint them anything because they acquired a decent closer – which they had last year -. a dependable starter with little upside (Buerhle), a former ace that shuts down when things are going wrong (Zambrano), and a one of the best SS in the game – which they had last year.

They’ve had pitching issues, and I don’t think Buerhle is going to have a lot of upside, personally. He’ll be an innings-logger, but I doubt the offense will be good enough to get the W’s. Zambrano could be productive, but I doubt how much. Heath Bell is reliable, but they overpaid for him. And they failed to lock-up Mike Stanton while the market keeps raising his extension price.

Frankly, they still have issues with Josh Johnson, Hanley will have to move to 3B – which remains to be seen.

And the fleecing of an “Old Man” in Ilitch. I saw the PR parade yesterday after Prince’s signing. They dragged Verlander into it. Verlander, oh yes, it was very exciting. I was having a terrible day of golfing and then Tiger ownership came through and turned my frown upside down! He wound up with a 79, so I am not exactly sure what defines a terrible day for Mr. Verlander. Anway, the bottom line is Ilitich got fleeced badly and the propaganda machine is starting to roll out again with this deal. The whole thing is disingenuous. The Front Office and Manager knew nothing about this deal and yet someone found time to call Miggy and ask him if this signing would be ok with him! If I am Miggy, I would ask for a trade. Back to the Marlins? Also, speaking of disingenuous, Dan Duquette still is feeling a .500 season. Hahahaha! I wish he would share some of that Orange Kool-Aid with the rest of the fans. It must be an extra special batch!

Ya…this has nothing to do with Heyman being a tool that Boras uses as he pleases. Just because he took the most money, moved to a much larger park, the tougher league and gave up his position doesn’t mean money was the biggest motivator. I mean you can’t blame CC Sabathia for taking the largest contract for a pitcher ever because the Yankees were supposed to be good, right? That’s how this works? If money wasn’t the biggest motivator and winning was he could have gone to the Rays or Yankees or Rangers or back to the Brewers. Imagine the Rays with him Zobrist/Longoria/Jennings and allll that pitching, or the short porch and Yankee lineup or the Rangers hitting paradise and great lineup. I just wish some of these guys would admit it more often. Money is a huge motivator. It is in every profession.